The period between the 2022 Olympics and the 2026 Olympics might have been some of the best years yet for the Japanese women's hockey team.
In 2022, the team secured a fifth-place finish at the IIHF Women's World Championship. Three years later, Japan would win gold at both the Asian Winter Games and the IIHF Asian Championship. And just recently, the Japanese women's hockey team won gold at the second edition of the IIHF Asian Championship.
it's also worth mentioning that at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Japan's women's hockey team secured their best finish in the event. Despite being eliminated in the quarterfinal, Japan secured nine of a possible twelve points from group play. They beat Sweden and Denmark in regulation, defeated Czechia in overtime, and lost to host nation China in overtime. That saw Japan finish first in Group B with a two-point margin on second-place Czechia, who will contest the 2026 edition in Group A.
With Czechia moving up to Group A and with Italy and France taking the place of China and Denmark in Group B, is it possible for Japan to at least replicate their performance from the 2022 Winter Olympics?
Japan’s 2026 women’s hockey roster feels built for a breakthrough moment
Japan's roster is unique from the rest of the teams in the women's Olympic hockey tournament. Specifically, the Japanese roster is the only roster to not feature any players from a North American hockey league.
Of the twenty-three players heading to Italy, just five play their club hockey outside of Japan; all five of those players are part of the Swedish women's hockey league.
The familiarity inside Japan’s women’s hockey roster could matter most
As I mentioned before, the Japanese women's hockey team will be entering this year's Winter Olympics in some of their best form ever. Coming off of three medals in two years and one of their best finishes at the Women's World Championship, Japan will have a lot of momentum heading into this edition of the tournament.
Not only will Japan have momentum on their side, but they also boast some Olympic experience. Both Rui Ukita and Hakura Toko have played in multiple Olympic hockey tournaments, and they are more than capable of putting strong performances together when the team needs it. The defensive side of the ice will also be getting a dose of Olympic experience, with Ayaka Hitosato set to play in her fourth Winter Olympics.
If the experienced players can once again deliver, we could see Japan deliver yet another strong performance at the Winter Olympics.
This Japanese team is capable of putting together another strong tournament and giving themselves a shot at winning their first Olympic knockout game.
Avoiding the United States and Canada in the quarterfinals while also finishing in the top two spots of Group B would automatically classify 2026 as a success. Winning a knockout game would all but make the 2026 Olympics the best tournament in Japan's long history of women's hockey.
Though Sweden may pose a challenge, Italy and France are winnable games for Japan, while a point against Germany is on the table. The floor for this team is seven points, which should be more than enough to take them into the knockouts, but I think that Japan will do enough to secure a top-two finish.